St. Charles Decks, Sheds Could Soon Skip Design Board - -
The Charles County Planning Commission voted to move approvals for routine projects in the St. Charles planned community, such as decks, sheds and fences, from community design review boards to county staff. Officials emphasized that the change does not authorize or facilitate data centers; a proposed county data center zoning amendment is effectively dead, while a data center task force remains under consideration.
The Charles County Planning Commission approved a change allowing county staff to handle architectural approvals for routine residential and commercial matters in St. Charles, including decks, fences, sheds, additions and unchanged commercial tenant or ownership changes. The change is intended to reduce delays caused by design review boards that sometimes failed to meet or lacked a quorum. It will be formalized through a memorandum of understanding between the county and St. Charles Communities LLC.
Planning and Growth Management officials said the agreement does not affect approvals for new construction, changes in use, exterior renovations or permanent signs. Director Jason Groff also said the action is unrelated to data centers, which would still require extensive power studies. Groff said the county's data center zoning text amendment is effectively dead, although county commissioners have directed staff to develop a proposal for a data center task force.